Store-service apparatus



2 Sheetsf-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

R. A. MCGARTY.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

Patented Dec. 29

.Wl ,Wfl M @VAL co., mman-ma, vusnmcrm, u. c. v

'. UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT A. MOCARTY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGN OR, BY MESN E ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE LAMSON CONSOLIDATED BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STORE SERVICE COMPANY, OF

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS. K

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,967', dated December 29, 1891.

Application lled October 21, 1886. Serial No. 216,886. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. MCCARTY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of IVayne, and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Store Service Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for carrying parcels and packages of merchandise 1o requiring a receptacle on the car larger than that which is used for carrying money merely; and it consists in devices for holding the body of the car firmlyin position, for elevating and lowering a detachable basket or parcel-receptacle, and forattaching the basket to the body of the car, and for controlling the upward movement of the basket when elevating, so that it will accurately and automatically attachitself to the body of the car. 2o My improvement is designed to be used in connection with a propelling device consisting of aspring-motor mounted near the end of the track, although it is obvious that any other means of propelling or imparting a pro- 2 5 pulsive movement to the car may be employed.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 5 a front elevation, of the device, while Figs. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 show details of some of the more 3o important parts.

In the drawings the parts are indicated by numerals.

1 indicates a hanger depending from the ceiling, to which one end of the wireway or track is attached and to which are also attached the arms supporting the spring-motor 10 and the entire device for operating the spring-motor, all of which is substantially the same as described in the Patents Nos. 325,425, 4o 325,426, and 325,618, previously granted to me dated September 1, 1865, with the exception of the catch for retaining the car at the station, in which I make some modifications from the catches described in such patents. The body of the car (shown at 23) hangs from Wheels adaptedto travel on a wireway and at its middle part has on either side an arm 33, extending horizontally outward. To the extremity of each of these arms is attacheda 5o bell-mouth tube 34. (Shown in detail in Fig.

6.) To the lower part of each of these tubes is hinged a catch device 25, which extends through a slot into the tube and has a curved handle 25, extending upward and backward.

A spring 27, connecting the tubular piece 34 55 with the handle ofthe catch 25, holds the catch in place Within the tube, but allows it to be withdrawn from within the tubewhen the handleis pressed downward.

At each end of the carl employ a long and 6c narrow hook 6. (Shown in detail in Fig. 3.) When the car reaches the end of the track, the hookat its forward end passes thro ugh aslotted guide 5 at the base of the hanger which supports the spring-motor, the opening of which is just broad enough to allow the hook 6 to pass through it freely. A plate 41, attached to the lower part of the guide 5 by a hinge at 39, has a projecting hook 38,y which engages with the hook 6 and holds the car against the 7o forward draft of the motor 10 until the interlocking hooks are unclasped. A spring 41 of like tension holds a plate 41 upward against the force of gravity, so as to insure locking Y of the hook 6 with the catch 38. A light 75 spring 13, projecting from the rear of the upper side of the guide 5, presses against the upper side of the hook 6 and insures the locking of the catches. The long hook is th'us held rmly in the slot, so that any swinging or lat- 8o eral motion of the carrier which might occur with a heavy load is prevented.

My basket or parcel-receptacle 17 (shown in detail in Eig. 2) has a serrated arm or projection 16 rising from each side, the detail of 85 one of which is shown in Fig. 6, adapted to enter the bell-mouth tubes 34, and to have their serrations catch upon and hang from the catches 25. The two arms 16, entering into the two tubes 34, are caught by the two 9o catches 25 and hold the basket firmly up against the body of the car in condition for transportation from the salesmans station to the cashiers station.

Near the end of the Wire I attach at a point directly over the middle of the car, when it is at rest against the guide 5, aframe-Work consisting of the cross-pieces 26, having perforations through their outer extremities. The rods 21 pass through the said perfor-ations in roo the said cross-pieces 2G, and are joined at the top and suspended from the ceiling by a cord 14, passing over a sheave 28 under a pulley 1t and thence to an eye in the ceiling, where it is fastened. A cord 14, having a handle 14C, extends from said pulley 1&1 to within reach of the operator, and upon said cord 14: is placed acouuter-weight 33. rlhe rods 21 pass below the body ot' the car and support at their lower extremity a table 19, about the size of the basket shown in Fig. 21. Said rods and the table form the elevator for the basket. Upwardly-extending pins 20, aixed to the upper surface of this table,serve as guides to locate t-he proper position of thebasket upon it, and the rods 21 are guided by the Acrosspieces 26, so that when the whole is elevated the toothed arms 16 will enter the bell-mouth tubes 34. Around the side pieces 21 of the elevator-frame are coiled springs 29, which press against the lower part of the cross-piece 26, when the table with the basket on it is drawn upward and the basket brought into connection with the body of the car. These springs then are compressed between the table 19 and the cross-piece 26 and expand when the elevating force is taken away after contact between the car and the basket has been made and throw the tabledownward, so that the pins 2O will be wholly below the bottom of the basket, and the car with the basket attached can readily move along the track. The counter-weight 33, attached to the cord le, balances the elevator, so that it will stay in any position in which the operator may leave it, and when after contact is made between the basket and the car the table 19 is thrown downward by the expansion ot' spring 29 until the tension on the spring is relieved the table and frame will remain in position just below the basket, ready to receive the basket when it is dropped from the body of the car by the withdrawal of the catches 25 from the serrations in the arms 1G, and the weight of the basket resting upon the table 19 causes the table to drop to its lowermost position. At the end of the way I provide suitable means for causing the release'of the basket as the carrier is received from the opposite end ot the way. From the cross-piece 26 I hang gates 3l by hinges at 32, which hinges permit the gates to move freely in the direction of the forward line of travel of the ear, but prevent any mot-ion in the opposite direction. These gates hang in the path of the curved handles of the catches 25, and so low that the upper surface of said handles strike against them and are thus forced downward, thus causing the release of the basket; butwhen the car moves in the other direction the gates 31 swing outward and allow the arms 23 to pass under them without releasing the basket.

In the operation of my apparatus a bundle or package is placed in the basket and the basket placed on the table, and the elevator and basket are then raised by pulling downward upon the cord 14 until the basket is connected with the body of the car by the toothed arms 16, engaging with catches25. The elevator then drops from the car, as before described, and the car is then propelled by pulling downward the handle 11rh of the cord 1l until the button 12, pressing downward upon the plate 4l, releases the catch 3S from the hook (i, and the retractile force of the motor 10 throws the car forward along the track.

lVhile I have shown and set forth a single form of apparatus embodying my invention, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from its essential features, which consist in a car and a receptacle detachably locked together, and a separate elevator situated stationarily at the end of the way and adapted to receive the receptacle from the car and raise and lower it to and from the car.

What I claim is# 1. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of an elevated way, a car mounted to travel on said way, a receptacle detachably suspended from said car, a catch device for locking the receptacle to the frame of the car in its suspended position, and a separate elevator situated stationarily at the end'of the way in position to receive the receptacle and constructed to raise or lower the same to and from the car, substantially as described.

2. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of an elevated way, a car mounted to travel on said way, a receptacle detachably suspended from said car, a catch device for locking the receptacle to the frame of the ear in its suspended position, a separate elevator situated stationarily at the end of the way for receiving the receptacle and constructed to raise or lower the same to and from the car, and means at the end of the way for engaging with and operating said catch device to automatically detach said receptacle from the ear, substantially as described.

3. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a car having spring-catches and arms projecting therefrom with a receptacle adapted to engage with said catches, and the hinged gates at or near the end of the way in the path of said arms, fixed as to movement in one direction and free to swing in the other direction, said gates in their fixed position actuating the arms, so as to release the receptacle from the car, substantially as described.

et. In a store-service apparatus, the combi nation of a car, a detachable receptacle, and an elevator for receiving and raising or lowering said receptacle, said elevator having pins secured to its upper surface, serving as guides for fixing the position of the receptacle, substantially as described.

5. In a storeservice apparatus, the combination, with the car having a projecting hook at its end, of a slotted guide-piece at the end of the way, adapted to be entered by said hook, and a catch engaging said hook within said guide-piece, and a spring attached to the said` IOO IIO

IIS

guide adapted to bear upon the projecting hook and lock the said hook and catch, substantially as described.

6. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with the car having a projecting hook at its end, of a slotted guide-piece at the end of the Way, adapted to be entered by said hook, and a spring-controlled catch engaging said hook Within said guidepiecc, substantially as set forth.

7. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a car having spring-catches and arms projecting therefrom with a receptacle detachably secured to the car and adapted to engage with said catches, and hinged gates at ROBERT A. MCCARTY. Witnesses:

CHARLES F. BURTON, L. J. TWUNSTURE. 

